CBI grills Jagan, two others in illegal assets case (Lead)

Hyderabad, June 5 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) grilled jailed MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy for over six hours for the third day Tuesday while his two aides were also questioned in an illegal assets case.

The CBI took custody of Jagan, as the young leader is popularly known, from the Chanchalguda Central Jail here in the morning and after questioning him at the agency’s office at Koti shifted him back to the jail in the evening.

Congress legislator D. Chandrasekhar Reddy and Sakshi TV director S. Ramakrishna Reddy also reached the CBI office in response to the notices served by the CBI.

Chandrasekhar Reddy had reportedly worked as a nominee director in Janani Infrastructure owned by Jagan. He had recently called on Jagan’s mother Y.S. Vijayamma to express his solidarity.

The CBI officials are believed to have questioned him and Ramakrishna Reddy in the presence of Jagan about the investments received by Janani Infrastructure and Jagati Publications.

The CBI has so far questioned the Kadapa MP about the investments received from industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad in return for the land and other concessions given for his port project Vanpic.

He is believed to have been grilled about the investments that flowed from some companies based abroad into his Sandur Power and other firms.

Jagan, who was arrested by the CBI May 27, allegedly conspired with his father and then chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to dole out favours to companies which made investments into his businesses on quid pro quo basis.

The CBI Monday issued a notice to Information Technology Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, directing him to appear for questioning June 7.

Lakshmaiah, as the minister for major industries in Rajasekhara Reddy’s cabinet, had issued an order allocating water from the Krishna river for a cement company.

The central agency May 24 arrested Excise Minister Mopidevi Venkataramna, who as the then minister for infrastructure and investments, had issued orders allotting huge land and granting other concessions to Vanpic.

Venkataramna along with Jagan, Nimmagadda Prasad and bureaucrat K.V. Brahmananda Reddy are currently lodged in Chanchalguda jail.

Meanwhile, the CBI court posted to Thursday orders on the bail petition of Venkataramna. The CBI opposed his bail petition on the ground that he may tamper with the evidence. The agency also accused him of misleading the cabinet while allotting 24,000 acres of land to Vanpic.